Ben Webster brought the tenor saxophone to prominence in the 1940s Duke Ellington Orchestra. Born March 27, 1909, in Kansas City, Mo., he studied music at Wilberforce University and, soon after, played piano for silent movies in Amarillo, Texas.

When the vocalist decided to explore the connections between jazz and African music for her latest project, Red Earth, she did not cut any corners. Rather, she dove deep into this project, traveling to Mali to record with the likes of Oumou Sangare and Toumani Diabate. We went with Bridgewater to Africa for this behind-the-scenes account of the historic sessions.